Sacha Baron Cohen to Play Freddie Mercury in Queen Biopic

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According to iamROGUE, flamboyant, late Queen vocalist Freddie Mercury will be portrayed by Borat star Sacha Baron Cohen in a big screen biopic based on the '70s rock band! Borat playing Freddie Mercury? No, I am not kidding. Deadline reported the news late last week. The film is as-yet unnamed and will be based on a script penned by Peter Morgan; the script is said to focus on Queen's early years and to culminate with their 1985 performance at Live Aid, where it was universally agreed by critics that the band stole show. The film is slated to go into production in 2011.

The surviving members of Queen -- guitarist Brian May, drummer Roger Taylor and bassist John Deacon -- have given backers their permission for Queen's music to be used in the film. Most biopics stumble with this issue; sometimes, bands/labels won't let the films license the music and without the music, the biopics are sorely, sorely lacking.

Producer Graham King said in a statement, "Queen is one of the greatest rock bands of all time, and a music brand all unto itself. Freddie Mercury was an awe-inspiring performer, so with Sacha in the starring role coupled with Peter's screenplay and the support of Queen, we have the perfect combination to tell the real story behind their success."